SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENTS

SERVICE DELIVERY TRAINING AND SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SDIP) DEVELOPMENT (SD1) AND IMPLEMENTATION (SD2) FOR THE FIVE SELECTED SERVICE AREAS IN THE TEN NEWLY TARGETED PROVINCES (VEGETATION PRODUCTION, PRIMARY ROADS, ORPHANAGES, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, AND YOUTH SERVICES FOR SPECIFIC AGE CATEGORIES) IN 12 PROVINCES.

SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SDIP) PROCESS EXPLAINED

The heart of GSP/Taqadum’s decentralization work is to improve the delivery of services to Iraq’s citizens. Underlying this is the project’s premise that the provincial governments we work with will be able to respond more effectively and efficiently to the needs of their communities than the Baghdad-located federal government’s ministerial directorates. The proximity of local government to it constituents engenders a greater capacity to respond to their needs and preferences, and allows citizens to more closely monitor the actions of their elected officials.

The SDIP process is key to improving the delivery of services and involves developing a comprehensive work plan to address management issues that will improve the level of services delivered to citizens. It begins with the establishment of a Service Delivery Improvement Plan Development Committee (SDIPDC) within each service-focused provincial directorate chaired by the directorate’s Planning Department Manager. The SDIPDC’s main responsibility is to identify and define suitable performance standards and indicators for each service that can be objectively measured (qualitatively and/or quantitatively) to enable government officials to concretely and realistically address service delivery and management issues.

SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (SDIP) PROCESS EXPLAINED

Once the performance standards and indicators are identified and defined, SDIPDC members measure the “as-is” or current status of each given service and compare this measurement to the accepted standard (what should be). The difference between the standard and the “as-is” is the “gap” that needs to be closed in order for the standard to be reached. Three different analysis tools are used to determine the gap: 1) the Gap Analysis Tool (GAT), which contains 14 criteria that can have a direct effect on the gap, and if addressed can close the gap; 2) SWOT, which explores Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats to determine what steps can be taken to close the gap; and 3) SMART, which analyzes the data gathered by the GAT and SWOT to identify Specific-Measureable-Achievable-Realistic-Time-bound goals from which: a) short-term solutions are developed to reduce the gap, as well as b) long- term ones that concretely close the gap.

Taken together, these three analytical tools identify objective short- and long-term solutions to be implemented to improve the delivery of services, and at the same time represent an SDIP framework that once completed, is presented by the SDIPDC to the Governor’s Office Task Force (TF) The TF consists of technical experts and is chaired by the Governor or a respective Directorate-related official, e.g., the Education Directorate Manager, a Directorate-related Provincial Council member, etc. At the same time, the SDIP is put on the province’s website for citizens to comment on and provide input. The TF reviews, discusses, and provides feedback to the SDIPDC on possible modifications to the SDIP. Once the TF’s review process is completed, the SDIP is then submitted to the Governor for adoption and is ready to be implemented.

Major challenges in developing SDIPs are: 1) a lack of data to determine the “as-is” situation of the service; 2) a lack of an Investment Budget for service improvements; and 3) determining appropriate and effective mitigations and measures to reduce the service gap.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Ongoing technical support for the following directorates of the following ministries: Youth and Sport (Youth Services for Special Age Groups), Agriculture (Vegetation Production), Labor and Social Affairs (Labor and Social Affairs), and Roads & Bridges (Main Roads) through developed and adopted services performance standards, and start measure “as-is” performance indicators as an introductory efforts preceding the planned (next quarter) Service Delivery Improvement Plan development with each service sector.

Directorate of Youth and Sport (Youth Services for Special Age Groups) Service Delivery Improvement Plan: All 12 provinces formed Service Delivery Improvement Plan Development Committees (SDIPDCs), were trained, adopted the Service Performance Standards, collected service data, and submitted service indicators to GO. At quarter’s end, all 12 directorates were processing in Gap Analysis as part of their Service Delivery Improvement Plan development for the Youth and Sport Sector.

Additional support was provided to the Directorate of Agriculture (Vegetation Production) in all 12 provinces via Service Delivery Improvement Plan Development Committee member who were trained on: 1) Service Delivery Improvement Plan methodology; and 2) how to develop and adopt standards. All 12 provinces are in the process of calculating their respective recent performance indicators.

Directorate of Labor and Social Affairs (Orphanage Housing, Vocational Training Centers), Service Delivery Improvement Plans: All 12 provinces formed 2 Service Delivery Improvement Plan Development Committees (SDIPDCs), were trained, adopted the Service Performance Standards, collected service data, and submitted service indicators to GO. At quarter’s end, all 12 directorates were processing in Gap Analysis as part of their Service Delivery Improvement Plans development for the Labor and Social Affairs Sector.

Additional support was provided to the Directorate of Roads & Bridges (Main Roads) in all 12 provinces via Service Delivery Improvement Plan Development Committee member who were trained on: 1) SDIP methodology; and 2) how to develop and adopt standards. All 12 provinces are in the process of calculating their respective recent performance indicators.

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